Let My Love Open the Door
by Jennifer Campbell
Summary: Hades' death creates big problems in the Underworld. G/J -- finished
1. Chapter 1

Title: Let My Love Open the Door  
Author: Jennifer Campbell  
Rating: PG-13 for regular Xena violence  
Characters: Joxer, Xena, Gabrielle, Perdicus,  
Persephone  
Time period: Sometime after fifth season  
Summary: Hades' death causes big problems in the  
Underworld.  
  
Notes and Disclaimers:  
  
This is a Gabrielle and Joxer Romantics Society Lyrics  
Challenge story, which means it's based on song lyrics  
given to me by another participant in the challenge. For  
more information on the challenge, visit  
http://www.crosswinds.net/~lyricsarchive  
  
Thanks to Raye for the lyrics, which I interpreted pretty  
literally for the story. I love the Grosse Pointe Blank  
soundtrack (I even watched the movie a couple of days ago).  
This story borrows a bit of imagery from a story of the  
afterlife by Dharma Bum (can't remember the title) and from  
"The NeverEnding Story."  
  
None of the characters belong to me, unfortunately. If  
they did, Joxer would be alive and in the arms of his  
loving Gabrielle. No flames please, but I'd love to hear  
constructive feedback.  
  
If you want to archive, please ask for permission and I'll  
probably say yes.  
  
#  
  
Originally performed by Pete Townsend  
Lyric and Music written by Pete Townsend  
© 1980 Towser Tunes, Inc. (BM) Administered by  
Windswept  
Pacific  
  
Let My Love Open the Door  
When people keep repeating  
That you'll never fall in love  
When everybody keeps retreating  
But you can't seem to get enough  
  
Chorus  
Let my love open the door  
Let my love open the door  
Let my love open the door  
To your heart  
  
When everything feels all over  
When everybody seems unkind  
I'll give you a four leaf clover  
Take all the worry out of your mind  
  
- Chorus -  
  
I have the only key to your heart  
I can stop you falling apart  
Try today, you'll find this way  
Come one and give me a chance to say  
Let my love open the door  
It's all I'm living for  
Release yourself from misery  
Only thing's gonna set you free  
That's my love  
  
- Chorus -  
  
When tragedy befalls you  
Don't let them bring you down  
Love can cure your problems  
You're so lucky I'm around  
  
- Chorus -  
  
#  
  
The City had gone to tartarus, everyone agreed.  
  
Before the downfall, the sheer white buildings -- delicate  
and graceful like river reeds -- spiraled into a  
perpetually clear sky. Nothing could crack their glasslike  
surface or tarnish their shine. The City shimmered like a  
small star, even at night, more divine than anything its  
residents had seen on Earth. Beauty incarnate. That's what  
it had been. Before the downfall.  
  
People had strolled among the towers on cobbled streets  
lined with a rainbow of blossoms -- tulips, roses and  
flowers never seen topside. No one had a care for their  
life before this, up on Earth with all the pain and grief  
that came with it. To Joxer, everything before his death  
faded to a clouded dream, and one hardly worth bothering to  
remember. Humiliation, inadequacy, injury, rejection. All  
things of the past.  
  
Each day -- although he couldn't be sure whether it was  
day, seeing as the City had no sun; only an evenness of  
light that seemed to come from everywhere at once -- he  
walked around the spiraling giants of shimmering glass,  
sometimes going inside to marvel at their beauty from  
another angle. He picked flowers. He talked with other  
residents, for here, he had no enemies. He felt nothing but  
a blissful peace, not ever stopping to wonder whether he  
could feel any other way.  
  
Only one word could describe his afterlife: Perfect.  
  
Then again, for all the beauty and tranquility, Joxer  
sometimes felt a nagging emptiness inside, as though he had  
lost something pivotal to his very existence. It was silly,  
perhaps, to wish for something the City could not provide.  
Yet he could not shut out, from deep in his soul, the light  
whisperings of a name, vague remembrances of lost love.  
  
_Gabrielle._  
  
Those moments came upon him like a feather-light breeze,  
here one moment and gone the next, while he gazed out his  
chamber window or contemplated the sky. He caught the fresh  
scent of her hair and saw flashes of deep green eyes, each  
vision baffling for the sharp yearning that accompanied it.  
And afterward, only the emptiness remained.  
  
_Gabrielle._  
  
Except for that, Joxer wouldn't change a thing. Then the  
downfall came.  
  
One morning, as usual, light filtered into his chamber on  
the fifth level of a glass tower. He woke and rolled out of  
bed, ready for the start of another blissfully peaceful  
day. He slipped into a tunic and pants, pulled on his  
slippers. No need for breakfast because hunger, like pain,  
had become a relic of the past. He walked through an open  
archway -- there were no doors in the City -- and into the  
hall.  
  
And the lights went out.  
  
Panic suddenly clutched at his insides. In the City,  
things like this never happened. Even at night, the towers  
gave off enough light to see, if only a dim reflection of  
the day. Absolute darkness did not exist here, and it never  
had.  
  
And yet, blackness closed in like a monster, suffocating  
the City like a physical _thing_. One moment, the tower had  
been awash in light, and then next... nothing. Joxer felt  
along a smooth wall, assuring himself that at least the  
building was there. He pressed his back against the  
comforting, solid feel of it. At least, even if he couldn't  
see his hand before his face, the tower still stood. It was  
a small reassurance.  
  
He cleared his throat, and called out hoarsely, "Ah, is  
anyone there?"  
  
Silence.  
  
He called out again, louder this time, "Hello? Hello?  
Hell-O!"  
  
No response came back except for his own desperate cries  
echoing off the walls, up into the spiral and into the  
darkness. Joxer's heart thudded, his breath came in short,  
quick gasps. Something had gone terribly wrong. Things like  
this didn't happen in the City.  
  
Joxer started feeling his way along the wall, his fingers  
searching for the opening to the staircase. If only, he  
thought, he could get down, out of the tower, everything  
would be all right. At least, then, he could find other  
people. He wouldn't feel so alone and so trapped. If only  
he could get out... get out ... getoutgetout_getout_!  
  
He pounded a fist against the wall, and heard the definite  
sound of glass giving way. Then, with no more warning than  
before, the light came back on. Joxer blinked against the  
sudden brightness and stared at the wall in amazement. The  
smooth, flawless glass, which nothing could damage, now  
sported a long, winding crack. He ran his fingertips over  
the thin line, and small shards tinkled to the floor. One  
splintered off into his finger, and he yelped. Pain! He  
gently pulled out the sliver; a small bead of blood formed.  
  
Blood. He hadn't seen his own blood since his last day on  
Earth, when Livia had ... had run her sword ... through...  
  
Oh. My. God.  
  
With heart pounding faster than before, he raced around to  
the staircase and out of the tower, fear chasing fast on  
his heels. How could he have forgotten how he had died? The  
pain and blood, turning to blessed numbness. Falling asleep  
on the battlefield and waking here, in his chamber on the  
fifth level of a tower. How could he have forgotten?  
  
In the cobbled streets, circumstances were no better.  
People ran in all directions, clothes in shreds and eyes  
wild. Some were screaming. He passed one woman sobbing in a  
flower bed, tearing viciously at delicate pink pedals.  
Chaos. Everywhere. Were they all like him, remembering?  
Wishing they could return to their happy ignorance, forget  
the pain and go back to blissfully not knowing?  
  
The light flickered on and off a few times, stopping  
people dead in their tracks, before it settled on the half-  
light of early twilight.  
  
Someone yelled behind him, "Look to the tower! Look out!"  
  
Joxer spun around, just in time to see a chunk of white,  
three times the size of a man, topple from the tip of a  
spiral. It seemed to fall in slow motion, as residents  
screamed in panic and raced away. One woman, though,  
oblivious to the warnings, stood dumb at the foot of the  
tower, as if in a trance. Joxer watched helplessly as the  
boulder crashed to the street, crushing her beneath it.  
  
"NO! he yelled. He ran up to the massive hunk of fallen  
glass, but he already knew he came too late. He numbly  
wondered what happened when one's spirit died in the  
afterlife.  
  
Now that the City was crumbling about them, now that a  
downfall had begun for some unknown and terrible reason,  
they might all learn the answer to that mystery much too  
soon.  
  
# 


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Let My Love Open the Door  
Author: Jennifer Campbell  
Rating: PG-13 for regular Xena violence  
Characters: Joxer, Xena, Gabrielle, Perdicus, Persephone  
Time period: Sometime after fifth season  
Summary: Hades' death causes big problems in the  
Underworld.  
  
For other disclaimers and notes, please see chapter 1.  
  
#  
  
Gabrielle had to shout over the clamor of the tavern for  
Xena to hear her at all. A decent meal and an actual bed,  
instead of stale bread and a blanket on the dirt, had been  
Gabrielle's idea. She had even insisted on fronting the  
dinars herself to a fat little innkeeper. This common room,  
though, smelled like a stable, which might not be too  
inappropriate seeing as its occupants acted like animals.  
Dirty men threw mugs of ale against the wall and laughed  
uproariously at their game. Xena fixated on her platter of  
meat and vegetables with a scowl, and Gabrielle felt  
terrible for dragging them into this place.  
  
"I'm sorry!" she yelled.  
  
"What?"  
  
Louder this time. "I said I'm sorry!"  
  
At Xena's perplexed look, Gabrielle pointed around the  
room, plugged her nose and shrugged apologetically. Xena  
nodded, understanding, then pointed at the door. As one,  
they rose and headed toward the exit. A particularly stinky  
bear of a man blocked Gabrielle's way and leaned over to  
talk in her ear.  
  
"Hey, cutie." He grinned in a sickeningly suggestive way.  
"Want to have some fun? I have it on good authority that  
the bed in my chamber doesn't even squeak."  
  
Gabrielle smiled thinly and nodded toward Xena, who was  
making a beeline for the exit. "No thank you. I'm already  
taken, unless you'd like to take on her ..."  
  
His leering grin widened. "Oh, I can take you both on at  
once! I'll -- Oof!"  
  
Gabrielle planted her fist from his stomach, watched with  
a small surge of satisfaction as the oaf doubled over, and  
then caught up with Xena. Amusement was dancing in her  
friend's eyes, and the corner of her mouth twitched upward.  
  
"You know, if you get lucky, I wouldn't want to stand in  
your way ..." Xena offered.  
  
Gabrielle rolled her eyes. "Ha, ha. Very funny. Let's get  
out of here."  
  
Outside, Gabrielle filled her lungs with a refreshing  
breath of cool air. The night was comfortable, with only a  
whisper of a breeze, and better yet, it was silent except  
for lingering commotion from the tavern. An evening under  
the stars might not be such a bad idea, after all.  
  
It wasn't disappointing when, not much later, she found  
herself watching Xena across a sputtering campfire,  
munching on stale bread and relishing every bite of it.  
  
"OK, Gabrielle," Xena murmured around bites, "why'd you  
want to go in there tonight? You know we've had bad luck  
with that place in the past. You remember that dwarf who --"  
  
"Yeah, I remember." She blushed at the memory. "I guess it  
was because, well ... because Joxer liked the place. There  
was that one night we were short on dinars, so he pulled  
out his lute and performed for our dinner." She smiled  
softly in remembrance. "He looked so happy up there,  
entertaining all those people. I remember thinking that I'd  
never seen him look so at home as on that stage."  
  
"That was more than twenty-five years ago," Xena reminded  
her. "Things change. That tavern certainly changed."  
  
"So did Joxer. Married to Meg, and with _children_ ...  
Xena, I never thought I'd see the day when Joxer would have  
children with anyone except ..." Her voice trailed off.  
  
"Except you?" Xena offered.  
  
Gabrielle bowed her head. "It doesn't matter. He's gone  
now."  
  
Xena's voice became soothing, comforting. "He's in the  
Elysian Fields no doubt, or some equivalent of it. He was a  
hero, and he died a hero. I would have killed Eve if he  
hadn't gotten in the way."  
  
"I know he's in a better place, Xena," Gabrielle said  
quietly. "It's just ... I miss him. If there were some way  
I could get him back and tell him all the things I didn't  
tell him in life ..."  
  
"I know."  
  
Xena leaned over and squeezed her thigh in sympathy.  
Gabrielle nodded, breathed deep and tried to regain control  
over her emotions. It had been months now, but still  
Joxer's death weighed heavily on her heart.  
  
Then an idea occurred to her. She cocked her head in  
thought. "Xena, what do you think happened to the  
Underworld after you killed Hades?"  
  
"What do you mean?" Xena asked absently between bites of  
bread.  
  
"I mean, do you think anything happened after you killed  
the king of the Underworld? Did someone else take over, or  
did things start to fall apart? You remember that time  
Hades lost his helmet and we helped get it back for him?  
The Underworld was in chaos, then. What's it like now that  
he's gone?"  
  
Xena shrugged. "What does it matter? Hades tried to kill  
us, and he deserved what he got."  
  
"I'm not saying he didn't deserve it," Gabrielle replied,  
her dinner forgotten in her lap. "But it's not just that.  
Very few people worship or even believe in the Greek gods  
anymore, so does that affect things? We know people down  
there. My family, your family. Marcus. Solan. Joxer. Do you  
think they're OK?"  
  
"Oh, sure. They're fine."  
  
By Xena's dismissive tone, Gabrielle guessed her friend  
wasn't thinking about it at all. Then again, Xena never  
thought much about the consequences of her actions. That  
had always been the bard's job, and now that Gabrielle had  
asked the question, she knew it would stick with her until  
she found an answer.  
  
She ate the rest of her dinner automatically, her mind a  
million miles away, in the Underworld with her lost  
friends. They were probably all enjoying the blissful peace  
of the Elysian Fields. Even so, she couldn't rid herself of  
that one question. It haunted her thoughts all night and  
for days afterward: Had Xena's actions doomed them all to  
oblivion?   
  
# 


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Let My Love Open the Door  
Author: Jennifer Campbell  
Rating: PG-13 for regular Xena violence  
Characters: Joxer, Xena, Gabrielle, Perdicus, Persephone  
Time period: Sometime after fifth season  
Summary: Hades' death causes big problems in the  
Underworld.  
  
For other disclaimers and notes, please see chapter 1.  
  
#  
  
Chucks of the towers, smooth like glass but hard as stone,  
crashed all about the streets. They ranged from fragments  
small enough to fit in the hand to boulders large enough to  
block whole streets. Their slick surface made climbing  
impossible, so whenever Joxer encountered a street that had  
become a dead end, he raced back the way he came, trying to  
find a way around.  
  
Where he ran to, he didn't know. As far as anyone knew,  
the City had no end, no edge to pass and suddenly be beyond  
the streets and flowers and buildings. It simply went on  
forever. Before the downfall, Joxer never considered  
leaving. Now, it was a matter of survival. To stay here  
surely would result in his final death. Already, the  
falling debris had crushed too many.  
  
He passed a woman huddled against a tower, sobs wracking  
her frail frame. He thought of stopping to help her, but  
then the lights started flickering. Her sobs became  
screams, and she ran off in panic. Joxer, watching the  
woman instead of where he was going, tripped over a helmet-  
sized rock and pitched face first into the street.  
  
Blood dripped from his nose onto the broken cobblestones.  
The world spun, but he knew he dare not stay here until his  
head cleared. Too dangerous.  
  
A hand reached out to help him to his feet, and he took it  
gratefully. His benefactor, a young man with confident  
bearing and earnest eyes, steadied him and handed him a  
cloth for his nose.  
  
"Thanks," Joxer mumbled, using the cloth to stop the flow  
of blood. He had seen too much blood today.  
  
"I know you, don't I?" the man asked. "You were best man  
at my wedding."  
  
Joxer took a closer look, and a name floated to the  
surface of his mind. "Perdicus?"  
  
The man smiled and nodded. "I knew you looked familiar.  
I'm remembering things, but it's coming so slowly. I can't  
remember your name ..."  
  
"I'm Joxer." He struggled through the fog in his mind. "I  
think I remember that wedding. You were marrying Gabrielle,  
and she wore that really pretty dress. And her hair ..."  
  
"She was beautiful," Perdicus agreed. "But I was killed  
the next morning, so I never got a real chance to love  
her." He paused. "You died young, too?"  
  
"Oh, no, I was old and wrinkled."  
  
Perdicus cocked his head in confusion. "But you're young  
now."  
  
Joxer thought about that, then finally said, "This is how  
I was when I first met Xena and Gabrielle. It's how I'll  
always visualize myself, so Hades -- or whoever -- probably  
picked up on that."  
  
"Ah, I see." He winced as a tiny chunk of glass bounced  
off his head. "We have to get out of here."  
  
So they ran, and Joxer talked between heavy breaths. "Um,  
not to bug ... bug you or anything, but ... where are we  
going?"  
  
"Don't know." Perdicus hurdled a smallish boulder, and  
Joxer scrambled over behind him. "But I have an idea on how  
to get out. We were sent here, somehow. So there has to be  
an exit. A door or something."  
  
"There are no ... no doors here."  
  
"There's at least one. I remember seeing it once, a long  
time ago. A big wooden door, at the top of a tower. I tried  
to open it, but it was locked."  
  
Joxer grabbed Perdicus' tunic, pulling him to a stop in  
the center of an abandoned square. He couldn't keep talking  
and running at the same time. "The towers are all falling.  
If there was a door, it's probably rubble by now."  
  
Perdicus shook his head. "No, it has to still be standing."  
  
"How can you be so sure?"  
  
"Because it's our only chance."  
  
Joxer had no answer to that, so they started running  
again. Perdicus moved like a soldier, Joxer noted, flying  
over the ruined streets with long, confident strides. And  
while Joxer peered over his shoulder every other step --  
worried that some new terror might be drawing up on their  
heels -- Perdicus never looked back. Forward, always  
forward. Like a male Xena. No wonder Gabrielle had loved  
him.  
  
Twice they dodged falling boulders that surely would have  
ended their quest, perhaps even their afterlives. Joxer  
kept looking around, but for what he didn't know. The  
towers were in pieces, gaping holes in their once  
gracefully smooth walls, and some had fallen to rubble  
completely. How would they ever find a single, solitary  
door in this crumbling place? In the dim light of twilight,  
the spirals had lost their brilliant shine, dulling to a  
flat gray.  
  
At one point, a bloodied man ran past them, waving his  
arms wildly. "Save yourselves! We've angered Hades, and  
he'll kill us all! We must find the great god and throw  
ourselves on his mercy!"  
  
A crowd of people followed in the man's wake, chanting out  
to Hades for forgiveness, but Joxer and Perdicus ignored  
them. They had a different mission.  
  
Then Joxer saw it: A flash of solid white against the  
darkening horizon. He blinked, thinking perhaps his  
imagination was playing tricks. But no, it didn't vanish. A  
tower, far in the distance, still standing, flawless and  
gleaming like a beacon to lost souls.  
  
"Wait! Look there!" Joxer pointed.  
  
Perdicus breathed out in obvious relief. "That's it! It  
has to be! That's our ticket out of here." He tugged on  
Joxer's tunic. "Come on!"  
  
They raced toward their only hope of escape.  
  
# 


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Let My Love Open the Door  
Author: Jennifer Campbell  
Rating: PG-13 for regular Xena violence  
Characters: Joxer, Xena, Gabrielle, Perdicus, Persephone  
Time period: Sometime after fifth season  
Summary: Hades' death causes big problems in the  
Underworld.  
  
For other disclaimers and notes, please see chapter 1.  
  
#  
  
"I still don't see the point of this, Gabrielle."  
  
They were hiking up a rocky, steep hill, and vegetation  
was beginning to thin out. Shrubs and tiny flowers had  
replaced towering trees and thick bushes. They had been  
forced to leave their horses in the forest. That in itself  
probably irritated Xena, seeing as she now had to carry  
their water skins over her shoulder. Gabrielle had their  
food. The lack of natural cover probably also set Xena on  
edge. In all, Gabrielle was beginning to regret this  
venture if only because of her irritable companion.  
  
"Look, this is the closest Underworld entrance that either  
of us could think of," Gabrielle explained. "You agreed to  
come here."  
  
"I had forgotten how steep it was."  
  
Gabrielle teased, "You're such a baby."  
  
Xena confronted her. "Say that again, and you'll be  
rolling back down the mountain."  
  
Gabrielle held her walking stick before her like a staff.  
"I'd like to see you try."  
  
With a snort, Xena ignored the barb and started back up,  
one foot plodding in front of the next in a slow rhythm.  
Gabrielle followed.  
  
"Xena, I just want to make sure our friends are all right  
down there. Aren't you the least bit curious? Or worried?"  
  
"Nope."  
  
"This'll only make us a couple of days late to King  
Gabriel's court." She paused, then offered, "At least it's  
summer. We're not hiking in three feet of snow."  
  
Xena looked back again. "Enough with the persuasions.  
Let's just get there and get this over with."  
  
Gabrielle took the hint and ceased her chatter, instead  
contenting herself with admiring the tiny pink and blue  
flowers along their path. She picked one and tucked it in  
her hair. She considered doing the same for Xena but then  
thought better of it.  
  
About an hour later, their destination came into a view, a  
cave atop a 20-foot cliff. Gabrielle had to abandon her  
walking stick to climb the jagged face, and at the top, she  
rolled onto her back to rest.  
  
"Why does this place have to be so hard to get to?" she  
asked, not really expecting an answer.  
  
"It's an entrance to the Underworld." Xena sounded amused.  
"If it were easy to reach, then every other person who  
bumbled onto the place would be stumbling around tartarus.  
Can't have that."  
  
"Good point."  
  
After they'd caught their breath, they headed in. The cave  
was shallow with no curves, which allowed at least a little  
light to filter to the back. At this time of day, sun shone  
in indirectly, creating irregular patterns of light and  
dark on the rock.  
  
Along the back wall, Gabrielle remembered, they'd find a  
narrow, open archway, and on the other side was Hades'  
realm. Last time, Gabrielle had waited here, bored out of  
her mind, while Xena had gone on some mission or another.  
This time, they'd go through together.  
  
Yet something strange greeted them at the archway. So  
unexpected it even took Xena back a step.  
  
"A door?" Gabrielle muttered. The wooden construction,  
solid and well-built, blocked the entire entrance. "That  
wasn't here before, right?"  
  
Xena ran her hands flat along the door, then pushed hard.  
It didn't budge on its hinges, drilled deep into the rock.  
  
"This shouldn't be here," she murmured. "Something isn't  
right."  
  
Gabrielle refrained from saying told you so and instead  
offered, "Try the knob."  
  
Xena twisted the iron protrusion and pushed again, but  
still the door refused to open. She ran her fingertips  
below the knob.  
  
"There's a keyhole here. A big one." Xena looked back at  
Gabrielle, eyes bright. "It's obvious that someone doesn't  
want uninvited visitors."  
  
Gabrielle worried her lip between her teeth, then said,  
"We have to find a way in, Xena. Now more than ever."  
  
"I'm starting to agree with you." She took a deep breath.  
"All right. Let's see if we can gather enough dry shrubs  
for a fire. We'll make camp and figure something out." She  
laid a comforting hand on Gabrielle's shoulder. "We'll fix  
this."  
  
"Right." Gabrielle nodded with more confidence than she  
felt, and Xena walked away. To the door, and more important  
to those beyond it, she said, "Don't worry. We're coming."  
  
# 


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Let My Love Open the Door  
Author: Jennifer Campbell  
Rating: PG-13 for regular Xena violence  
Characters: Joxer, Xena, Gabrielle, Perdicus, Persephone  
Time period: Sometime after fifth season  
Summary: Hades' death causes big problems in the  
Underworld.  
  
For other disclaimers and notes, please see chapter 1.  
  
#  
  
A grassy hill circled around the last standing tower like  
a protective ring. Joxer and Perdicus stood on its highest  
point, about a hundred yards from their destination, and  
surveyed the chaos below. All survivors had found their way  
here, to this last vestige of the City. They swarmed around  
the tower like so many ants. Even from here, Joxer could  
hear their voices rising like the tide.  
  
Under the ever-darkening sky, Joxer had to squint to see  
them clearly. Most simply milled about, but some  
industrious souls had begun piling rubble along the tower's  
base, beneath a single lit window, high above. If the tower  
drew people like a beacon with its brilliant shimmer, then  
that window was its golden eye -- the ultimate prize. The  
stacking of boulders, Joxer realized, was an attempt to  
reach it.  
  
"I should have expected this," Perdicus said, resigned and  
disappointed. "Of course people would come here. You can  
see the tower for miles in every direction."  
  
"It's like a circus," Joxer supplied. "Did you ever go to  
a circus? I did once. There was this dancing bear, and a  
woman who was so flexible she could reach back and touch  
her --"  
  
Joxer caught himself when he saw Perdicus wasn't paying  
the least bit of attention. He cleared his throat,  
embarrassed, and tried to focus on the problem at hand.  
"So, um, how do we get past all that and inside?"  
  
Perdicus' intent gaze rose to the window, and he pointed.  
"I bet the door is up there. I remember there being an  
entrance, just like in every other tower. Let's circle  
around on the hill to see if we can spot it."  
  
"Right." Joxer nodded, all business. "Good plan."  
  
So they circled. Hundreds of people packed around the  
backside of the tower, too, with more joining the crowd all  
the time. Joxer and Perdicus seemed the only two who stayed  
on the hill instead of going down. Eventually, they came  
back around to the window.  
  
Joxer huffed. "There's no way into that place. Did you see  
a way in? I didn't see one."  
  
"But it was there," Perdicus protested, his expression  
confused. "I remember ..."  
  
"Well, it's not there now. Seems like our best bet is to  
help those guys piling up rubble to get to the window."  
  
Joxer started down the hill, but Perdicus held him back.  
"There's no time for that," he snapped. "The City's light  
is going out, and it'll be completely gone before they even  
get close. We must find a quicker way."  
  
Joxer shuffled his feet, thinking things through, then  
said slowly, "Well, Gabrielle trusted you, and that must  
count for something. So I guess ... I guess I'll trust you,  
too."  
  
"Thank you." He sounded relieved. "Maybe we'll find  
something different up close. Do you think we should ... go  
down?"  
  
"We're not going to get any closer to an answer by staying  
up here."  
  
So down into the swarm they went. Perdicus led the way,  
and Joxer had to cling to the back of his companion's tunic  
to keep them from getting separated. He got jostled and  
knocked over more than once. The roar of voices was  
deafening. For all these people, though, Joxer also would  
have expected a hot, sweaty stench. Perhaps spirits, if  
that's what they all were, had no odor at all.  
  
After what seemed an eternity of pushing and weaving, they  
reached the tower and began forcing their way through the  
crowd at its base. Perdicus walked along with one hand on  
the smooth, unyielding surface. Joxer looked for something,  
anything, that might give them a clue to getting in,  
although he doubted any chance of success. Still, he had  
given Perdicus his support, and he would keep that promise.  
He would do Gabrielle and Xena proud.  
  
Ahead, Joxer saw a small square of gold pressed against  
the white, at about head-height. As they came closer, he  
realized it was a polished plaque, covered in Greek  
letters. Perdicus had spotted it, too, and read it when  
they came close enough.  
  
"First test comes unseen  
Transparent walls, feel your way  
If your heart is true."  
  
They exchanged a confused look.  
  
"What does it mean?" Joxer asked.  
  
"It's a riddle. My mom used to tell me these things all  
the time, but they weren't anything like this." Perdicus  
tapped one finger against his chin in thought. "The first  
test must be to get into the tower. Unseen ... transparent  
walls ..." His eyes lit up. "What if it means the entrance  
is really there, but we just can't see it?"  
  
Joxer was dubious, but he decided to play along. "So...  
that would mean that if we feel our way along the wall,  
we'll find the way in?"  
  
"Only if our hearts are true. The entrance won't be there  
for everyone."  
  
Joxer shook his head. "That doesn't make any sense."  
  
Perdicus shrugged. "It's worth a try."  
  
He set both hands on the wall, below the plaque, and  
started sliding them downward to the cobblestones. Joxer  
followed his lead, pushing against the wall higher up,  
where Perdicus couldn't reach. It was slow-going, and they  
got more than one strange look. One shrill woman cursed at  
Joxer when he bumped into her, and he apologized profusely  
before moving on. Before that morning, he would have never  
guessed to hear such language in the City.  
  
They had worked about a quarter of the way around the  
tower, to the point Joxer could no longer see the window  
high above them. He automatically slid his hands up, down,  
to the left. And then his lead hand vanished into the  
glass. One moment, a wall, and the next, he felt only air.  
He pulled back, and again cautiously pushed his hand  
against the wall, and through it.  
  
"Perdicus, look!" he said, then demonstrated.  
  
Perdicus did the same, amazed to watch his hand seemingly  
slip through. He grinned at Joxer. "Shall we go in?"  
  
Without waiting for a response, Perdicus walked straight  
through the wall, no hesitation in his step. Joxer gulped  
hard, hoping for nothing horrible on the other side, and  
followed into the unknown.  
  
# 


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Let My Love Open the Door  
Author: Jennifer Campbell  
Rating: PG-13 for regular Xena violence  
Characters: Joxer, Xena, Gabrielle, Perdicus, Persephone  
Time period: Sometime after fifth season  
Summary: Hades' death causes big problems in the  
Underworld.  
  
For other disclaimers and notes, please see chapter 1.  
  
#  
  
Xena had been at it for what seemed hours, poking her  
dagger into the keyhole and jiggling it about. She bit her  
lip in concentration, one ear pressed to the door, as she  
tried to find the release. It was the obvious first tactic  
-- picking the lock -- but now Gabrielle wished they would  
have had the foresight to drag Autolycus up the mountain  
with them. He could have opened the door in 30 seconds.  
  
Assuming he was still alive, twenty-five years later.  
Gabrielle had to entertain the possibility that he, too,  
was trapped on the other side of the door.  
  
Xena wrinkled her nose, like she did only when she got  
especially frustrated, and threw her dagger into the dirt  
at her feet. "This is impossible!"  
  
"I know," Gabrielle soothed. Of course, nothing was  
impossible, but Xena didn't need to hear that right now.  
  
"No, you don't understand. This. Is. Impossible." She  
emphasized each word. "There's no catch in that keyhole. No  
release. I've been feeling for it for hours, and it's  
simply not there."  
  
"But," Gabrielle stammered, "that's impossible."  
  
Xena smiled grimly. "Told you so."  
  
Gabrielle scrambled to her feet and started pacing the  
length of the cave. It did no good, but she felt the simple  
urge to _move_. "That's so idiotic! Why put a keyhole there  
if there's no key that can open it? Why play with us like  
that?"  
  
Xena didn't answer, but Gabrielle's hadn't expected a  
response to her rant. Deep inside her, she knew Joxer  
needed their help, as did all the others. They were waiting  
for rescue. Yet the rescuers sat helpless, unable to solve  
the riddle of one stupid door! She slammed her fist into  
the solid wood. It jolted her arm all the way to the  
shoulder, but it made her feel better, cleared her head.  
  
With the pain, her rage dissipated, leaving only a gaping  
emptiness inside her. Gabrielle slowly slid to the ground,  
her back to the door. Right now, she couldn't bring herself  
to look at it.  
  
"Gabrielle, I think you have to start thinking about the  
possibility that we're not going to get in." Xena spoke  
quietly, as though hesitant to say the words.  
  
"I don't accept that."  
  
"You might have to."  
  
Gabrielle pulled her knees to her chest. "We've never  
given up on anything, Xena. No matter how hopeless it  
looked. When Eve was rampaging across Greece, as Livia, you  
refused to stop until you got your daughter back. And when  
Caesar and Pompey brought their war to Greece, you tricked  
them into destroying each other's armies, even though any  
normal person would have just gotten out of their path."  
  
"This is different." Xena leaned forward intently. "In  
those situations, we had an enemy to fight, some action to  
take. But here, there's nothing. I can't even figure out  
what's going on." She waved her hand toward the door. "This  
shouldn't be happening, but I don't know what to _do_ about  
it."  
  
"We'll figure it out." At Xena's skeptical look, Gabrielle  
repeated with emphasis, "We _will_ find a solution. We're  
not going to just walk away from this. You know we can't do  
that."  
  
A tiny smile pulled at the corner of Xena's mouth. "You're  
right. We can't give up."  
  
Gabrielle twisted to see the door behind her, set one palm  
firmly against it. She said thoughtfully, "You know,  
through all this, I've been forcing myself to remember all  
the people we know down there. Maybe to remind myself of  
how important it is for us to keep trying. My parents.  
Cyrene. Perdicus. But in the end, I keep coming back to one  
person. To ... to Joxer." Her sad eyes met Xena's. "It  
makes me feel guilty, that I should put him above all the  
others."  
  
"It shouldn't. That's normal when you lose someone you --"  
  
Xena stopped short, but Gabrielle could guess at what she  
meant to say. "Someone I love."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Gabrielle rested her cheek on her raised knees. "But I  
loved the others, too. Perdicus. I loved him so much, Xena,  
but I couldn't save him from a vengeful warrior." She  
paused, thinking things through. "I guess I lost Joxer the  
same way, but his absence still weighs more heavily on me  
than Perdicus' ever did. I feel he should be here, with his  
silly comments and goofy grin ..."  
  
Xena reached out slowly and started smoothing her hair. It  
reminded Gabrielle of her mother back in Potedia, lying on  
her lap as a little girl. Safe, comforting. All those warm  
sensations she had left behind years ago. She felt like  
crying for the loss of her innocence. Joxer had never lost  
his innocence, though, which was only part of what made him  
so special.  
  
"I miss him, too." Xena's voice cracked. "You and Joxer  
and me -- we were a family."  
  
A family. The words resonated to Gabrielle's soul, and she  
knew them to be true. But that family didn't work with one  
of them missing. _Dear Joxer_, she thought, _I never knew  
how much you meant to me, to us, until you were gone._  
  
With a deep breath, Gabrielle wiped at her damp eyes and  
sat up straight. If they kept talking like this, she was  
going to start bawling. She had to do something, to get her  
mind off her fears and her memories.  
  
"Mind if I take a look?" Gabrielle nodded toward the door.  
  
"Be my guest."  
  
Instead of picking up the dagger, as Xena had done  
immediately, Gabrielle leaned over and peered into the  
gaping keyhole. It must take a giant's key, she thought,  
for she had no trouble seeing through to the other side.  
She couldn't make out much, only vague objects and a  
bright, golden light. A room, perhaps, but an empty one.  
  
On a whim, she stuck her fingers in the opening. She could  
reach about halfway back and still have a little wiggle  
room. As she felt around a bit, she realized Xena was  
right: It had no catches like in a normal lock. It looked  
like a keyhole, but it seemed to be no more than a big hole  
in the door.  
  
She withdrew her fingers and peered through again, then  
drew back in surprise. Movement! Something had crossed her  
line of vision; she was sure of it. And was that sound  
coming from over there? Faint, but it could be...  
  
"What do you see?" Xena asked urgently.  
  
"Shhhh."  
  
Gabrielle waved her silent, then pressed her ear to the  
keyhole. There it was again. So quiet, like a dove's coo,  
but this time, she was certain of what she heard.  
  
She gazed back at her companion in worry. "Xena, someone  
is ... Someone over there is crying."  
  
# 


	7. Chapter 7

Title: Let My Love Open the Door  
Author: Jennifer Campbell  
Rating: PG-13 for regular Xena violence  
Characters: Joxer, Xena, Gabrielle, Perdicus, Persephone  
Time period: Sometime after fifth season  
Summary: Hades' death causes big problems in the  
Underworld.  
  
For other disclaimers and notes, please see chapter 1.  
  
#  
  
Joxer didn't know what to expect beyond the faux wall of  
glass. A dreaded monster to bite their heads off. A tower  
crowded with those who had also unraveled the riddle  
outside. Perhaps Hades himself would pop up and blast them  
to pieces for daring to enter this sacred place.  
  
In any case, as soon as he passed into the tower, Joxer  
dove for the floor with arms over his head. Better safe  
than fried or eaten. His nose, already sore from a fall  
earlier that day, banged against the floor and started  
bleeding again. He hardly noticed, though, as he was  
peeking around his arms to see what danger might lurk  
there. What he didn't expect, though, was absolutely  
nothing out of the ordinary -- and that's exactly what he  
found.  
  
Amazingly enough, the tower looked just as it should,  
untouched by the chaos surrounding it. The floor was wide  
open, with no fixtures or furniture of any kind and, except  
for Perdicus, not another soul in sight. Only pure,  
gleaming white, everywhere he looked. A staircase rose from  
the far wall; it circled the structure all the way into the  
spiral's tip. He couldn't see that high up, of course, but  
Joxer suspected their destination lay at the top of those  
stairs.  
  
Perdicus helped him to his feet with an indulgent grin.  
"Paranoid by any chance?"  
  
Joxer huffed. "After all those years traveling with Xena  
and Gabby, you learn to be careful, you know. Cause it's a  
dangerous life, and if you're not on your toes, you end up  
getting skewered by some insane warlord."  
  
"You don't have to tell _me_ that."  
  
When he remembered how Perdicus died, Joxer bit his  
tongue. "Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot."  
  
"It's all right."  
  
"If it helps any, I was killed the same way."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah, Xena's daughter went a little nuts and ran me  
through while I was ..." He gulped hard at the memory.  
"While I was trying to save Gabrielle."  
  
Perdicus' expression softened. "You died for her?"  
  
Joxer shrugged. "It's no more than you did. Anyway, I  
always told myself that if I was going to go, I better make  
it worthwhile. You know, saving the woman I --" He caught  
himself, remembered he was talking to Gabrielle's husband,  
and blushed. "Anyway, what are we wasting time here for?  
Let's get upstairs."  
  
He tried to ignore Perdicus' thoughtful look, as the man  
studied him closely with those serious eyes. Joxer cleared  
his throat noisily, still embarrassed for almost telling  
Perdicus that they loved the same woman, and he headed for  
the stairs. He beckoned to his companion.  
  
"Come on, will ya? We haven't got all day!"  
  
Perdicus broke from his trance, jogged over to Joxer and  
took the lead. He set a brisk pace up the stairs, skipping  
every other one with his loping stride. Joxer panted as he  
tried to keep up. Periodically, they passed archways  
leading into each level, and opposite each opening was a  
narrow slit in the tower's outer wall. One time, Joxer  
paused to glance outside, and what he saw stole all his air  
away.  
  
"Perdicus!" he managed to choke out.  
  
By now, Perdicus had gotten several steps above, so it  
took a few seconds for him to come back down. He, too,  
Joxer noted with satisfaction, was breathing hard.  
  
"Is something wrong?" Perdicus asked urgently.  
  
"What do you see out there?"  
  
Perdicus peered out the slit and shrugged. "Lots of  
people, milling around the tower. Just like it was when we  
were out there. What's the big deal?"  
  
"Look out farther, in the City."  
  
Perdicus obeyed, then gasped. Nothing stood now except for  
their own tower. The rest looked as though some monstrous  
hand had swept it all to rubble. No colorful splotches of  
flowers, as they had grown used to seeing. No streets. Just  
mile upon mile of broken glass, gray and lifeless. The  
perpetually crystalline sky had darkened to midnight blue,  
and occasional lightning bolts flickered in the distance,  
with no cloud in sight.  
  
"We've descended into tartarus," Perdicus whispered,  
incredulous. "We have to get of here soon, or I fear for  
the worst."  
  
Joxer nodded at the swarm below. "What about all those  
other people? We can't abandon them here."  
  
"I'd like to help them," Perdicus replied, pointing toward  
the City, "but what can we do against _that_?"  
  
"We can all leave through the door."  
  
"First we have to find and open the door. Even then, we  
don't know what's on the other side. Could be a broom  
closet for all we know." Perdicus ripped his eyes from the  
armageddon outside. He whispered hoarsely, "Let's go."  
  
It took them quite awhile to reach the top. Joxer felt his  
lungs would burst, but that was nothing compared to his  
despair when they found the staircase's end. Their journey  
came to an abrupt halt at a blank wall. No archway, no  
door. Nothing but cold, heartless glass.  
  
Joxer sat dejectedly on the stairs. "I don't believe this.  
We get all the way up here for this?"  
  
"I don't think so. Remember the entrance into the tower?"  
  
"Yeah. So what?"  
  
Without a word, Perdicus set his palms flat against the  
wall and pushed _through_. He winked at Joxer and walked  
in. Joxer shuddered; it just looked so unnatural. Still, he  
felt hope returning to his heart, and he dragged his  
exhausted body up and followed Perdicus through.  
  
On the other side, they found a small, perfectly round  
chamber. Joxer practically bumped into Perdicus' back as he  
entered; the young man stood transfixed. It wasn't because  
of the window or large wooden door on the opposite wall,  
either. It was the woman crumbled in the center of the  
room, sobbing uncontrollably. Her long golden hair spilled  
over her face as she looked up at them, eyes red and puffy,  
cheeks wet with tears. Still, Joxer had rarely seen such a  
vision of beauty; only Gabrielle possessed greater power to  
steal his breath away. Judging by Perdicus' reaction, not  
even his beloved wife could affect him more than this.  
  
"Who are you?" the woman asked, her voice like music.  
"What are you doing here?"  
  
Perdicus made not a sound, so Joxer answered. "Um, I'm  
Joxer. This is Perdicus. We've been trying to get to that  
door, so we could get out of the City."  
  
She sniffled. "Then your quest is futile, for no one can  
open that door."  
  
Joxer sputtered. "What?"  
  
"Go ahead," she said dully. "Read it yourself."  
  
Only then did Joxer notice the plaque, fixed to the wall  
next to the door. Just like the first one, this plaque  
gleamed with bright gold Greek letters. _Another stupid  
riddle_, he thought, but he dutifully crossed the room and  
read its message aloud.  
  
"Love opens the door  
Body and soul reunite  
Human touch saves all."  
  
His brows furrowed in thought. "But how can love open a  
door? It's not like you can stick your love in the lock and  
twist it around. And boy is that a huge lock. What kind of  
kind of key fits in that?"  
  
He looked back to the woman for an explanation, but her  
attention had strayed elsewhere. Perdicus, finally released  
from his immobility, had knelt at her side. Their eyes  
riveted on each other in a way that made Joxer want to  
heave. They didn't have time for this!  
  
"What's your name, Lady?" Perdicus asked, taking her hand  
in his.  
  
"Persephone."  
  
Perdicus sighed softly, kissed her hand. "I've never heard  
a more lovely name."  
  
"Wait a minute," Joxer interrupted. "Persephone? Daughter  
of Demeter, goddess of nature, and wife to Hades? That  
Persephone?"  
  
Perdicus drew back as if stung. "Lady, I am so sorry if I  
offended."  
  
She smiled and caressed his cheek. "Not at all, brave  
Perdicus. My husband, Hades, is dead, killed by Xena.  
Before he left to do battle with Xena, he closed all the  
doors to the Underworld, saying he didn't want anyone  
uninvited here while he was away, and of course he thought  
he would be back. Only he could open the doors, and when he  
was killed ..."  
  
Persephone nodded toward the window. They didn't need to  
look outside to know what she meant.  
  
"But how are the doors related to what has happened to the  
City?" Perdicus asked.  
  
"The Underworld shares a deep bond with Earth. It draws  
its essence from the living. When Hades shut the doors, he  
closed off all connections, and it was like shutting off a  
room from new air. We could all survive for a while,  
sustained by what was already here, but once the air runs  
out ..."  
  
"We all die," Perdicus finished.  
  
"Yes." She nodded. "I came here to open the door, to save  
the Underworld from destruction. But only two things can  
unlock it: My dead husband, and true love."  
  
Perdicus looked as perplexed as Joxer felt. "How can true  
love open the door?"  
  
Remembering the riddle, Joxer put the pieces together.  
Suddenly, everything made sense. "Only through human touch.  
Two hands, reaching through the keyhole on either side of  
the door. They meet in the middle, and that unlocks the  
door. That's the key!"  
  
Persephone nodded. "But on Earth, the door opens into a  
cave, on a mountain, far from civilization. The chance that  
anyone would come here is small, and the chance that one of  
our true loves would come is even smaller."  
  
"That's why you were crying, Lady?" Perdicus asked softly.  
"Because you know there is no way out?"  
  
Their eyes met again in that love-at-first-sight way that  
simultaneously made Joxer want to heave and made him yearn  
desperately for his Gabrielle. If only she and Xena could  
know to come to that door, if only he could somehow send  
them a message, maybe they would all stand a chance. Then  
again, Gabrielle had never loved him like that.  
  
Persephone started to cry again, and Perdicus reached out  
gently to wipe away her tears. "It's hopeless," she said  
between sobs. "Unless contact with the living is restored  
soon, the darkness will come. And then the Void."  
  
"What's that?" Joxer asked fearfully.  
  
Her eyes strayed to the window, and so they all looked.  
The lightning had drawn closer, flashing all around the  
tower in eerie silence. Beyond that, Joxer could see  
nothing. Ink-black darkness had swallowed almost everything  
in its gaping, terrifying jaws.  
  
Persephone shuddered, and Perdicus drew her into his arms.  
She said quietly, "The Void is the end of the Underworld  
and everyone in it. It means darkness forever, with nothing  
grounded in reality. All souls float for eternity through a  
sea of nothingness. The Void ... is oblivion."   
# 


	8. Chapter 8

Title: Let My Love Open the Door  
Author: Jennifer Campbell  
Rating: PG-13 for regular Xena violence  
Characters: Joxer, Xena, Gabrielle, Perdicus, Persephone  
Time period: Sometime after fifth season  
Summary: Hades' death causes big problems in the  
Underworld.  
  
For other disclaimers and notes, please see chapter 1.  
  
#  
  
Gabrielle heard voices, murmuring waves of sound, one  
blending into the next in a frustrating blur. Ear pressed  
to against the keyhole, she tried in vain to pick out  
words. No one spoke loudly enough for her to understand.  
She had no more luck with her vision, as figures moved too  
rapidly across her narrow view to make out more than basic  
forms.  
  
They were so close! Only a few feet away, on the other  
side of this infernal door, were those who could help to  
open it. Yet for all her efforts, Gabrielle couldn't even  
decipher who -- or what -- she and Xena were dealing with.  
The fist-clenching frustration was enough to make her want  
to scream.  
  
Xena leaned intently over her shoulder, trying to get a  
glimpse through the hole. "Any luck figuring out what  
they're talking about?"  
  
Gabrielle rolled her eyes. "What do you think?"  
  
"I take it that's a 'no'?"  
  
"Maybe I should yell at them," Gabrielle suggested. "You  
know, try to catch their attention."  
  
Xena's voice was low, near to her ear. "I don't think  
that's a good idea. We don't know what we're dealing with.  
Those could be Hades' underlings, or something worse. They  
might be the ones who put up the door."  
  
"I don't think they are, Xena."  
  
Raised eyebrows, Xena asked, "And how do you know that?"  
  
"I -- I don't know." Gabrielle shrugged helplessly, unable  
to offer much more of an explanation. "I just ... _feel_ it.  
Like an instinct, you know?"  
  
"It was your instincts that brought us here in the first  
place," Xena replied thoughtfully. "You were right about  
that, so ... go ahead. Yell at them."  
  
"Really?" Gabrielle blinked, surprised.  
  
Xena waved invitingly toward the door. "Be my guest."  
  
Gabrielle grinned, took a deep breath of cool mountain  
air, and --  
  
"OBLIVION!?"  
  
Gabrielle choked on her own attempt at communication as  
that single, incredulous word blasted through the keyhole,  
the first intelligible thing they had heard. She exchanged  
a frantic, worried look with Xena, and peered through the  
door. Still nothing to see, but the murmur of voices rose  
to a roar, as though that one outburst had triggered a  
flood of conversation.  
  
Yet that voice. Something about it sounded so familiar,  
and comforting, like a soft blanket on a cold night. No  
matter the negativity behind its tone. Gabrielle's heart  
started racing, and she didn't know why.  
  
Something rattled the door, from the other side, and both  
women jerked back. The door hadn't so much as budged before  
now. It rattled again, as though someone was pounding their  
entire body against the wood, trying to break through.  
Again. The door trembled, but held firm.  
  
Another voice rose above the clamor, this one female.  
"Stop it! You'll hurt yourself!"  
  
_Thud._ The door shook again. Gabrielle fell back a step,  
afraid the heavy wood might suddenly collapse on top of  
her. Xena stood directly behind her, hands tightening  
almost painfully on Gabrielle's shoulders. They both held  
their breath, and waited.  
  
"We have get out!" the first voice yelled, angry and  
desperate. "I'm going to break down this door if it's the  
last thing I --"  
  
_Thud._  
  
A third, male voice chimed in. "Joxer, stop! You'll hurt  
yourself!"  
  
At that, Gabrielle gasped. The tiny sound escaped her lips  
unnoticed, and blood pounded in her ears. Could it be true?  
She grasped at one of Xena's hands, desperate for that  
grounding force, anything to convince her she wasn't  
dreaming. Xena squeezed her fingers, reassuring her that  
she was indeed awake.  
  
"Did you hear that?" Gabrielle whispered. "Did you hear  
what they called him?"  
  
_Thud._  
  
"Ouch!" The exclamation came through the keyhole,  
confirming all they needed to know.  
  
Xena answered hoarsely, "I think you should yell at them  
now. Before he really does hurt himself."  
  
"Right. Of course," she said absently as she moved toward  
the door. All her focus riveted through that hole, to the  
man on the other side whom she never thought to see again.  
Despite herself, she smiled as she knelt before the  
keyhole. "Joxer!"  
  
A pause, and then, "Who said that?"  
  
"It's Gabrielle!"  
  
She could see him now through the hole, at least the  
middle section of him. Her window of vision ended just  
below his shoulders, but she recognized the gangly body and  
couldn't help but grin even wider. She could imagine him,  
looking frantically around the room for her disembodied  
voice.  
  
"Where are you? I can't see you!"  
  
"The keyhole," she yelled. "Look through the keyhole."  
  
The form moved, drew close enough to block all light. Then  
she found herself staring at a pair of wide, shocked eyes.  
  
"Gabby? Is it really you? Is Xena there?"  
  
Xena yelled from behind, "I'm here, Joxer!"  
  
A flash of a grin. "Wow! It is so great to see you guys.  
I've missed you so much."  
  
"We've missed you, too, Joxer." Gabrielle grinned back,  
then got down to business. "How do we open the door?"  
  
"Um, well, there's this riddle, and --" He paused, and the  
next thing Gabrielle saw was his fingers sticking into the  
hole. "It takes human contact, and, well, love."  
  
"Huh?" Gabrielle answered.  
  
"The riddle says that love opens the door, and Persephone  
says it has to be true love, like what I feel for, um --"  
He stopped himself, then said, "Just take my hand,  
Gabrielle."  
  
She glanced worriedly back at Xena. "Did you hear that?  
True love opens the door?"  
  
Xena shrugged. "Sounds like a good idea to me."  
  
"But I don't think this is going to work," she hissed. "I  
do love Joxer, but not like that. True love is a much more  
powerful force. It moves mountains. Xena, I --"  
  
Xena silenced her with one finger over her lips. Her eyes  
danced, probably at Gabrielle's nervous chatter. "Just do  
what he asks, and see what happens. It might be their only  
chance."  
  
_Their only chance._ Xena's words made sense, but Gabrielle  
didn't want Joxer's afterlife depending on her heart. She  
wanted to fight her problems with weapons in hand,  
something to kick and punch. In this instance, apparently  
only love could grant victory. This was one battlefield  
that had already handed her more than one defeat, and she  
had no wish to revisit.  
  
If they touched, and the door opened, she could no longer  
deny her feelings for Joxer -- a possibility that made her  
tremble in fear for both of them. The last man she had  
loved had been slaughtered. Would the same thing happen  
again, if she let someone in? Especially someone like  
Joxer, who had a difficult time getting his boots on the  
right feet, let alone defending himself.  
  
On the other hand, if they touched and the door didn't  
open ... that option scared her even more.  
  
"Come on, Gabby!"  
  
Joxer's fingers reached toward her, and she knew her duty  
outweighed her fear. She was a hero -- at least, she tried  
her best to fight for the greater good -- and right now,  
her friend needed her. In fact, the fate of the entire  
Underworld may rest on her very actions. Millions of souls  
may hang in the balance.  
  
So she straightened her shoulders, steeled her courage and  
thrust her hand into the keyhole. Their fingertips brushed,  
warm, yet slick with a nervous sweat. She pushed her hand  
in farther to hook her fingers around his.  
  
His touch, light and gentle, brought thousands of memories  
unbidden to mind. Sitting around the campfire while Joxer's  
fingers danced expertly over his lute. Caring for him in a  
temple as he lay near death, his hand so cold in her's, and  
she prayed to every god in the heavens that he recover. His  
fingertips brushing against her cheek, so softly, after Eli  
had brought her and Xena back from the dead.  
  
So many good memories of those hands, not clumsy at all  
but confident and caring. Holding onto her now through the  
door, suddenly opening up her heart to all those  
possibilities she had locked away as impossibilities. In  
that moment, as their hands caressed, she wished for all  
the world that the door would open and damn the  
consequences.  
  
Gabrielle closed her eyes, relying totally on touch, and  
prepared herself for whatever may come. A blinding light,  
or the splintering explosion of wood. Things like this  
tended toward the dramatic.  
  
Moments passed, and became seconds, stretching into more  
seconds. Gabrielle measured the time by her rapid  
heartbeats. Their hands grasped even tighter.  
  
Nothing happened.  
  
Finally, Gabrielle reluctantly withdrew her hand, her  
heart almost breaking at the loss of contact. She looked to  
Xena with hopeless eyes. "I think we're in trouble."  
  
# 


	9. Chapter 9

Title: Let My Love Open the Door  
Author: Jennifer Campbell  
Rating: PG-13 for regular Xena violence  
Characters: Joxer, Xena, Gabrielle, Perdicus, Persephone  
Time period: Sometime after fifth season  
Summary: Hades' death causes big problems in the  
Underworld.  
  
For other disclaimers and notes, please see chapter 1.  
  
#  
  
When Gabrielle's hand met with his own, in that moment  
Joxer forgot the destruction outside, the lightning and  
absolute darkness creeping across the City's ruins. No  
matter the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of souls huddling  
around the last of the towers. None of it mattered because  
Gabrielle's touch completely filled his universe.  
  
Her warm fingers, callused from years of weapons-handling  
and hard living, wrapped around his own and held tight.  
Only when her grip loosened and she withdrew her hand from  
the keyhole did Joxer come back down enough to realize that  
it hadn't worked. The door still stood. He hadn't  
considered the possibility that might happen.  
  
Frustration replaced bliss in a heartbeat, and he banged  
his fist against Hades' barrier. It should have worked! His  
love for Gabrielle could not be any truer. Even in death,  
he loved her still. Their failure could mean only one  
thing: No matter how much Joxer loved her, she did not love  
him in return. A terrible heaviness pressed against his  
chest as his heart broke all over again.  
  
"Joxer?" Perdicus' voice penetrated Joxer's misery. "Are  
you all right?"  
  
He didn't answer. Instead, his gaze drifted, without  
seeing, across the circular room, to the door, out the  
window. The shock of the absence of sky snapped him back to  
himself. More than his own heart was at stake here. Despite  
his own failure, they still had to stop the void from  
destroying all -- for the greater good.  
  
"Perdicus," he murmured. "You do it."  
  
From his place on the floor, where he still held  
Persephone as though he would never let go, Perdicus' eyes  
flew wider. Almost in fear, Joxer thought, although that  
seemed silly. Perdicus had no reason to doubt the love he  
and Gabrielle had shared.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Perdicus' voice trembled.  
  
"You were her husband," Joxer explained dully. "You loved  
each other more than anything. Maybe that's enough to open  
the door."  
  
Persephone gasped. "You're married to her?"  
  
"It was long ago," Perdicus quickly answered. "We were  
married for only a day before I was killed." He turned his  
attention to Joxer. "I have wonderful memories of  
Gabrielle, but I don't love her anymore. I'll have no more  
success than you did."  
  
Joxer nodded stiffly and pressed no further. Part of true  
love was absolute certainty of that love, and Perdicus  
obviously did not meet that qualification. They could not  
afford to waste time on another doomed attempt.  
  
"Joxer!" Gabrielle's voice drifted through the door.  
  
He leaned over to look through at her beautiful eyes. He  
wanted that sight to be his last before the void overtook  
them all.  
  
"Joxer, I--" Her voice cracked. "I'm sorry. I thought we  
could do it. I do love you, but I guess it's not in the  
right way."  
  
His eyes began to water, and he choked out, "I'm sorry,  
too, Gabrielle. I'm sorry we couldn't save all these souls  
here. I'm sorry I won't ever see you again." He thrust his  
fingers into the hole, and she met his touch, one last  
time. "Say good-bye to Xena for me, and Virgil and Meg, if  
you see them again. And always remember ... I love you."  
  
"I know." With the quiet response, she squeezed his hand,  
then withdrew.  
  
Unable to face the door anymore, Joxer turned away. The  
room's golden light, he noticed, was slowly fading to  
darkness. Through the window, he could no longer see to the  
ground. All those people had vanished, and only the void  
remained. Soon, the end would come, and he would welcome it.  
  
# 


	10. Chapter 10

Title: Let My Love Open the Door  
Author: Jennifer Campbell  
Rating: PG-13 for regular Xena violence  
Characters: Joxer, Xena, Gabrielle, Perdicus, Persephone  
Time period: Sometime after fifth season  
Summary: Hades' death causes big problems in the  
Underworld.  
  
For other disclaimers and notes, please see chapter 1.  
  
#  
  
After her last physical contact with Joxer, Gabrielle  
threw herself into Xena's arms but it gave her no solace.  
She sobbed into her friend's shoulder, and Xena softly  
stroked her hair.  
  
"Shhh," Xena soothed. "It's not over yet. You're the one  
who told me we couldn't give up."  
  
"But there's nothing left to try." Gabrielle sat up  
straight and wiped her eyes. "Our only hope was for Joxer  
and I to open the door, and we failed."  
  
Xena bit her lip, deep in thought. "We're missing  
something here. Something important."  
  
"All I wanted was for us to be together again," Gabrielle  
whispered, brushing her palm against the door that would  
forever remain closed. Through the keyhole, all was fading  
into darkness. "I wanted for us to be a family again, like  
you said. We haven't had that for so long."  
  
"Yes, a family." Xena worried at her lip for a moment  
more, before a slow grin crossed her face. "That's it!"  
  
Gabrielle felt a glimmer of hope return. "Xena, what are  
you thinking?"  
  
Eyes bright, she said, "True love happens when soulmates  
come together, right? But it isn't necessarily only _two_  
souls. You, me and Joxer, we're a family. Take one of us  
out of the equation, and it doesn't feel right. So ..."  
  
Gabrielle caught on, getting as excited now as Xena. "It's  
not Joxer and I who can open the door but all three of us!"  
  
"Exactly."  
  
Gabrielle laughed delightedly, then yelled through the  
keyhole, into the darkness. "Joxer, are you there?"  
  
"Yeah," came his resigned response.  
  
"Put your hand through one more time."  
  
"Why? It won't do any good."  
  
"Just trust me, Joxer. Do it."  
  
A moment later, he did as she asked, but she could barely  
see his fingers, almost like dark, narrow shadows moving  
about the hole. Gabrielle raised her hand to Xena, and they  
pressed their palms together. Then, as one, they slipped  
their joined hands in. It was a tight fit, but with a  
little wiggling, they managed to pressed back far enough to  
meet Joxer halfway. Their fingers wrapped all around, with  
Joxer's hand sandwiched in the middle. All three hands  
joined for the first time in what seemed forever, and to  
Gabrielle, it felt _right_.  
  
As soon as they touched, the door began to flow and shift,  
as though made of water, and it shimmered with a silvery  
glow. Gabrielle held her breath as it became more  
insubstantial, to the point that she could see straight  
through the entrance. The swirling mass quickly became more  
and more transparent, and she could see Joxer staring back  
at them, his mouth hanging open in amazement. She was  
certain no sight had ever been more welcome.  
  
Suddenly, the door was no more, yet their hands still  
grasped each other. Gabrielle wrapped her other hand around  
their joined fingers, and pulled Joxer through the opening.  
She wasn't sure what would happen. Joxer's true body lay  
buried for months now, and all that stood before her was  
his soul. Still, his hand felt solid enough.  
  
With no hesitation, he stepped though into the land of the  
living and into Gabrielle's waiting arms. As he wrapped his  
own arms around her, she pressed her ear to his chest. A  
heartbeat, strong and sure. They had him back, and she  
sobbed for the relief of it.  
  
Gabrielle felt Xena's arms encircle them both. They stood  
like that for a while, simply enjoying the reunion. For the  
first time since she had awoken in the ice cave, Gabrielle  
felt as though the world was as it should be. The three of  
them were together again. At last.  
  
When they broke the embrace, all eyes returned to the  
opening, looking beyond and into the Underworld. The golden  
light had brightened to full strength again, spilling out  
the window and pushing at the retreating darkness. Before  
long, Gabrielle could see nothing but crystal-clear blue  
sky.  
  
Movement within the tower drew her attention away from the  
window, and her eyes fell to two figures on the floor. They  
held each other loosely and were watching the trio in  
amazement and relief. Gabrielle didn't recognize the woman,  
a radiant beauty despite her tear-streaked cheeks. But the  
man...  
  
"Perdicus!"  
  
She ran through the opening, ready to jump headlong into  
his arms for another long-overdue reunion, but then stopped  
short. By the way he held that woman ... Gabrielle would  
have to be blind not to know what it meant. After all these  
years, her former husband had found love again. More tears  
of happiness threatened to overwhelm her.  
  
Perdicus helped the woman to her feet as Joxer and Xena  
passed through the opening and stopped behind Gabrielle. He  
looked just as handsome and confident as Gabrielle  
remembered.  
  
"Gabrielle and Xena," Perdicus said softly. "Thank you."  
  
"It was nothing, really."  
  
Gabrielle grinned as she realized the extreme  
understatement of her words, and he grinned back. Joxer  
chuckled. Gabrielle noticed that her ex-husband still held  
the woman's hand.  
  
"So," Xena said, "are you going to introduce us?"  
  
Perdicus blushed. "Sorry. Xena, Gabrielle, I'd like you to  
meet Persephone, daughter of Demeter." He looked lovingly  
at the woman. "Persephone, these are my friends."  
  
Persephone nodded. "Nice to meet you, and thank you.  
Through your bravery and quick thinking, you've saved the  
Underworld."  
  
"No problem," Xena quipped with a dismissive air Gabrielle  
had grown used to over the years. She passed them all,  
going to the window. "Still looks like a mess out there,  
though. Lots of rubble, and a bunch of people milling  
around."  
  
Persephone quirked a small smile. "Just because the door  
is gone doesn't mean all the damage is undone. There is  
much work to be done, to restore all that was."  
  
"I'll help you," Perdicus offered, and Persephone rewarded  
him with a light kiss on the cheek.  
  
"I know you will," she said.  
  
"So, um," Joxer said, shuffling his feet, "what happens to  
me now? I mean, do I stay here, or can I go back with Xena  
and Gabby?"  
  
Persephone answered, "As the riddle says, 'body and soul  
reunite.' You are mortal again, Joxer, and very much alive.  
Your place is in the world above with Xena and Gabrielle,  
and I wish you much joy there."  
  
"Great," he said, pridefully pulling himself to his full  
height, "because I have a lot of work to do up there.  
Warlords to stop and towns to save, and I know there's a  
lot to be done down here, too, with all the mess out there,  
but I know you can handle it. It might take centuries, but-  
-"  
  
Gabrielle silenced him with one finger on his lips.  
"Joxer, I think you should stop with 'thank you.'"  
  
"Um, sure. Right. What she said."  
  
With that, they said their good-byes, Gabrielle finally  
giving Perdicus a friendly hug and wishing him the best  
with the goddess. She supposed now that Hades was dead,  
Persephone would assume his responsibilities, which meant  
both she had Perdicus had much work ahead of them.  
Gabrielle wished them luck, echoed by Xena and Joxer.  
  
Then the three left the Underworld. The sun had set, so  
they set up camp at the cave mouth, finding just enough dry  
brush for a small fire. At this elevation, the stars looked  
so much closer and more brilliant, and Gabrielle gazed at  
them in a peaceful sort of contentment. Too bad such beauty  
came at a cost, for the cold felt that much more bitter in  
the mountains. Gabrielle shivered, but Joxer held her  
against him, and his body heat warmed her.  
  
"Thanks again, you guys," he said quietly, the regular  
bluster gone from his voice, and it seemed to Gabrielle  
that perhaps his ordeal in the Underworld had matured him a  
bit. "I had given up, but you saved the day. You really did  
it."  
  
"No, we did it," Gabrielle corrected him.  
  
"Yeah," Xena added. "We couldn't have done it without you,  
Joxer."  
  
He gave them both his trademark grin. Right then,  
Gabrielle felt an absolute sense of peace, greater than  
anything she had tried to achieve under Eli's teachings.  
Back then, inner peace had been about achieving a state of  
nothingness, but this feeling was more filling and  
satisfying than any she could remember. She knew that after  
all the adventures, all the suffering and heartbreak, they  
had finally found their happy ending.  
  
"You know, you're right!" Joxer said. "You're so lucky I'm  
around."  
  
The end   
  
# 


End file.
